In short. Saved Rerank rules raise or discard domains in ordinary Brave Search results for the user's search context.
Definition: Brave Search Rerank is a browser-side preference that lets you raise or discard domains in ordinary Brave Search results. Brave stores the rules in cookies, turns them into an ephemeral Goggle specification for each request, and applies that specification during ranking.
Key facts
- Brave describes Rerank as a way to create rules that raise or discard domains and alter the search ranking algorithm in its Rerank help page.
- The same page says the rules apply to all normal searches and are created from a control panel at the top right of the results page.
- Brave says raised domains receive a bump upwards in the final result set, while discarded domains are not considered candidates for that set.
- Brave's anonymous cookies documentation names separate cookie fields for raise rules and discard rules.
- Brave says it does not track queries when Rerank is used, while a unique combination of raise and discard rules could serve as an identifier and enable a user profile.
What does a saved rule change?
Rerank changes the domain treatment used for ordinary Brave Search requests. A raise rule gives a matching domain an upward bump in the final result set. A discard rule removes a matching domain from consideration as a candidate for that set. The documented effect is therefore on the candidate pool and ordering of results, rather than on the contents of the pages that Brave Search retrieves.
Brave's help page describes Rerank as lightweight Goggles applied to all normal searches. The control panel opens from the top right corner of the search results page, so the preference is attached to the search interface rather than to a query syntax that a publisher places on its website.
Where are the preferences stored?
Brave says that Rerank rules are stored as cookies on the user's device. On every request, Brave creates an ephemeral Goggle specification from those cookies and applies it when ranking the search results.
The separate cookie inventory identifies the two Rerank fields:
goggles_discard: Used to store discard rules of Rerank.
Brave's cookie documentation says that a changed Brave Search setting sets a cookie to remember the preference, and that the cookie value is linked to the setting on the page. It also says Brave Search uses the same cookie names and cookie values for every user and describes those cookies as anonymous. Its inventory names one field for raise rules and another for discard rules.
What does this mean for a website owner?
An ordinary Brave Search result page can reflect the searcher's saved domain preferences. A page from a raised domain can move upward in that user's final result set. A page from a discarded domain is excluded from the candidate set for that user's request. These are user-side preferences, so they describe one search context rather than a documented change to the website or to Brave's general index.
The Rerank help page says Brave does not track users' queries and that Rerank is covered by the same provisions as other data elements that could serve as identifiers. It also warns that a unique set of raise and discard rules could serve as an identifier and enable creation of a profile. The cookie page says the cookie names and values are shared across users and cannot be used to identify anyone, so the two pages describe the cookie format and the privacy risk of a distinctive rule combination separately.
How is the preference checked?
Open Brave Search, open the Rerank control panel from the top right of a results page, and inspect the raised and discarded domain lists. The cookie documentation identifies separate storage fields for those lists, while Brave's help pages do not specify a separate Rerank reset procedure.
Related terms
- How do I apply a custom site selection with Brave Goggles?
- Does Brave use its own index for AI answers?
- Brave Search localisation
FAQ
Does Rerank affect every Brave Search query?
Brave documents Rerank as lightweight Goggles applied to all normal searches. The rules are read from cookies and applied during ranking on every request.
Does a discard rule hide a domain after ranking?
Brave's wording places a discarded domain outside the candidate set for the final results. The documented effect is exclusion from candidate consideration.
Can a website opt out of a user's Rerank rule?
The two Brave help pages describe a user control and its cookie storage. They do not document a website-side opt-out for a saved raise or discard rule.
Sources
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer